Lane Kiffin gets the keys to Crimson Tide offense

Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has expressed his preference to call the game from the press box. Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban said the players would be better served with Kiffin on the sidelines.

During Saban’s time at Alabama, former offensive coordinators Major Applewhite, Jim McElwain and Doug Nussmeier have all called plays from the press box. But with a new coordinator breaking in a new quarterback, Saban has decided to take a new approach and put Kiffin “on the field.”

“I’ve never made the offensive coordinator come down, but we are going to do it this year,” Saban said.

Saban didn’t say which coaches would be in the box when Kiffin’s version of Alabama’s offense debuts today against West Virginia in the Georgia Dome.

Kiffin is no stranger to calling a game from the sidelines, handling at least a portion of the duties during his time as a head coach. But as a coordinator at USC, he was in the press box.

“I always let the coordinators be where they want to be,” Saban said. “In this case, even though he felt more comfortable being in the press box, I think it’s important that he is on the field where he can have the greatest impact and effect on the players.”

Alabama is making a transition at quarterback, and there’s the possibility of multiple players taking snaps today. Being on the sidelines will allow Kiffin to meet with the QBs and other offensive players and make adjustments between possessions.

During his time as a defensive coordinator at Michigan State in the 1980s, Saban said he “always wanted to be in the press box” because it allowed him to have every piece of the playbook at his disposal. The downside of that was “you cannot make adjustments as easily in the game” because “you can’t communicate.”

But once Saban made his way to the Cleveland Browns as defensive coordinator under Bill Belichick, he had to make a change.

“(Belichick) said, ‘You’re not going to be in the press box, you’re going to be on the field,’” Saban recalled. “I said, ‘Man, I can’t call all of this stuff. We’ve got 52 different personnel groups and all these formations and all this stuff.’ He said, ‘You install it every day. You’re the one that’s face-to-face with the players all the time. You’re the one they listen to. You’ve got to be on the field so you can make the adjustments and impact the players during the game.’

“So I memorized my stuff. I could not hold the call sheet out and look at it during the game. I had to know what I was going to do on everything, but he was right. I had a much greater impact on the players in making adjustments in the game.”

One of the more intriguing aspects of Kiffin’s arrival was how many, if any, changes he would make on offense. Saban acknowledged that the team made “changes systematically” to help “some of the multiples we present offensively” to make the Tide’s offense less predictable.

A noticeable difference for Saban has been the number of scripted plays the offense will have to start the game. In the past, Saban said the Tide always has “always scripted eight to 10 plays to start the game,” not counting situations like “short yardage or third down.” Scripting plays lets the offensive players know what to expect. Saban added that Kiffin has “about 15 he wants to run.”

Saban noted the offense will still “fit in with what the players can do.” There’s a perception outside of Alabama’s program that Saban is too hands-on when it comes to his input in the offense during games. Saban dispelled that notion, and said he won’t interrupt Kiffin’s flow during drives.

“My thing has always been that as a play caller, you have to let the guy have the rhythm of what he’s trying to do,” Saban said. “I’d rather make my suggestions between the series. … I know that’s putting a lot of trust in another person, but that’s been the most effective way for me through the years as a head coach because I think you can really mess a guy up if you’re always questioning what he does.”

Junior wide receiver Amari Cooper has had a few scrimmages and A-Day to get a sense for how Kiffin likes to call a game.

“I have a good feeling about how he calls the game,” Cooper said. “I like how he calls the game. He takes advantage of certain situations and certain match-ups really well.”